How to Get Help for Depression & Anxiety

Learn how to get help for dealing with depression and anxiety from psychiatrist Ankur Saraiya in this Howcast video.

Transcript

So depression and anxiety are two of the most common experiences that people have and two of the most common reasons that people come into treatment. And yet, despite this, I think that too many people suffer from symptoms of depression and anxiety without considering coming to treatment. Because they are afraid that a means that they are crazy or means that they are going to have to take medications. The important thing to understand is that there is many approaches to helping manage depression and anxiety. And one of the most important things is figuring out what the causes are. There can be issues related to medical illness, issues related to nutrition, issues related to somebody's behavior pattern that can lead to problems with depression and or anxiety. And it is important to understand that medications are not the only option although for many people they can be a good option, they are the only option that is out there for helping people manage symptoms of depression and anxiety. And the most important thing is to be evaluated by somebody who knows how to manage these symptoms, in other words the psyche address, to figure out what the options are and it is important to know that getting an evaluation is not the same as a decision to start a particular treatment. You can get under evaluation, in that way you know what your options are before and then having to decide what you are going to do about it. The other interesting thing about depression and anxiety is that they often coexist. For some people when they experience stress, it manifests in symptoms of mainly in anxiety. And for other people when they have stress, it manifests mainly in various kinds of depression. But the source is the same and as it results, some of the treatments that we have for depression and anxiety do overlap. If you are even considering that there may be something out there, it is important to get under evaluation of the psychiatrist and to go through the various options. And be sure to find a psychiatrist who is comfortable not only prescribing medication but also talking about other ways to manage depression and anxiety including psychotherapy and other physical and behavioral modifications.